45% of county councils expect govt to miss 2017 broadband targets

Nearly half of all county councils think the UK government could miss its super-fast broadband targets for 2017.

In a survey conducted by the County Councils Network (CCN), 45 per cent of members expressed doubt that the 95 per cent coverage goal will be achieved.

As reported by the Financial Times, the CCN believes some parts of rural Britain will still not have access to super-fast connectivity in two years' time.

Martin Hill, Spokesman for Infrastructure at the CCN, said counties are "pulling out all the stops" to get communities connected to fibre broadband.

"CCN members contributed on average about £5.5 million for the initial round of the process with more funding for subsequent work," he added.

"The [programme] is on the right track, but it needs to be more flexible and transparent to ensure our goals are met and the final five per cent of unconnected communities get access to broadband at a reasonable price."

Councillor Hill said Broadband Delivery UK needs to ensure counties can obtain best value for their investments.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said the government is working with local partners in each of the 44 project areas, and is confident of reaching the target to take super-fast broadband coverage to 95 per cent of the country by 2017.

“In fact, the National Audit Office recently said the programme is on track and that the safeguards are in place to ensure the taxpayer gets value for money," he stated.

"Every day our rollout reaches 5,000 more homes and businesses, but we want to make sure no one is left behind."

The spokesperson added that the Budget 2015 sets out how the government proposes to boost speeds for some of the hardest to reach areas.

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